The Sunset of a Civic Giant: Inside the Decision to Dissolve the Itasca Project

For over two decades, the Itasca Project served as the quiet engine behind some of Minnesota’s most significant regional policy shifts. A coalition of CEOs and civic leaders, it was often described as the "secret sauce" of the Twin Cities—a cross-sector alliance that leveraged the influence of the private sector to solve public-sector problems. However, in a move that has sent ripples through the state’s political and business corridors, the organization’s leadership has announced it will shut down the initiative, signaling the end of an era for a specific brand of corporate-led civic engagement.

The decision, communicated via a detailed memo on October 25, 2024, marks a surprising reversal for an organization that only a year ago celebrated its 20th anniversary with promises of growth and renewed impact.

Main Facts: The Dissolution of a Powerhouse

The Itasca Project’s Executive Leadership Council, chaired by Minnesota Star Tribune publisher Steve Grove, announced that the organization would "graduate" its work to other regional entities. This unanimous decision follows a seven-month period of strategic deliberation intended to determine if the Itasca Project remained the most effective vehicle for regional progress.

Key takeaways from the announcement include:

• A Standalone Exit: The Itasca Project will no longer exist as an independent entity.
• Transfer of Programs: Core initiatives, such as the Minnesota Young American Leaders Program (MYALP), will be absorbed by Greater MSP and the University of Minnesota’s Center for Integrative Leadership.
• Leadership Transition: Managing Director Jake Blumberg has exited his role to launch a private consultancy, and the executive council will host virtual forums to discuss the transition with stakeholders and funders.
• New Stewardship: The "task force" model, pioneered by Itasca, is now being fully utilized by organizations like Greater MSP and the GroundBreak Coalition, which leadership suggests makes the original Itasca structure redundant.

Chronology: From Informal Alliance to Formal Dissolution

The trajectory of the Itasca Project reflects the changing nature of how business interacts with society.

The Formative Years (2003–2010)

Founded in the early 2000s, the Itasca Project began as a "virtual" organization. It had no permanent office and no full-time staff. Instead, it relied on the pro bono services of McKinsey & Co. and the donated time of the region’s most powerful CEOs. During this period, the group focused on massive infrastructure and economic disparities. Its most notable victory came in 2008, when it successfully lobbied for the largest transportation investment in state history, which included a critical increase in the gas tax to fund crumbling infrastructure.

Growth and the Creation of Greater MSP (2011–2020)

By 2011, Itasca leaders recognized the need for a dedicated regional economic development arm, leading to the creation of Greater MSP. While Greater MSP focused on business recruitment and regional branding, Itasca remained focused on social and economic "task forces"—tackling issues like the achievement gap, housing affordability, and early childhood education.

The Professionalization Pivot (2021–2023)

Three years ago, under the leadership of former Padilla chair Lynn Casey, the organization attempted to evolve. Casey noted in 2022 that "more is expected of Itasca," arguing that the virtual model was no longer sufficient for the complexity of modern challenges. The organization subsequently established an Executive Leadership Council, secured physical office space within Greater MSP, and hired Jake Blumberg as its first Managing Director.

In October 2023, the group hosted a 20th-anniversary event at St. Paul’s Union Depot. Steve Grove, newly appointed as chair, spoke enthusiastically about growing the project’s impact, describing Itasca as a "national model for collaboration."

The Strategic Shift and Shutdown (2024)

Despite the outward momentum of 2023, internal deliberations throughout 2024 led to a different conclusion. Leadership began questioning whether a CEO-heavy council was still the right "table" for civic discourse in a post-2020 world. By October 2024, the decision was finalized: the Itasca Project would sunset, handing its legacy to a newer generation of organizations.

Supporting Data: Two Decades of Impact

The Itasca Project’s legacy is defined by data-driven task forces that influenced public policy through rigorous research. Their impact can be measured across several key pillars:

Transportation and Infrastructure

The 2008 gas tax increase remains the group’s most cited achievement. By benchmarking Minnesota against other states, Itasca provided the political cover and the business-case justification for legislators to pass a funding package that many had previously deemed "politically impossible."

Socio-Economic Disparities

The "Mind the Gap" and "Close the Gap" campaigns were instrumental in shifting the regional conversation toward racial and economic equity. These reports used hard data to demonstrate that the Twin Cities’ prosperity was unsustainable if significant portions of the population remained excluded from the workforce and homeownership.

Economic Ecosystems

The launch of Business Bridge created a framework for the region’s largest employers—such as Target, Best Buy, and General Mills—to intentionally direct their procurement spending toward local, small, and minority-owned businesses. This initiative aimed to keep more capital circulating within the regional economy.

Leadership Pipeline

The Young American Leaders Program (YALP), a partnership with Harvard Business School, has trained hundreds of emerging leaders in the Twin Cities. This program, along with its Minnesota-specific counterpart (MYALP), will continue under the stewardship of Greater MSP, ensuring that the "Itasca style" of cross-sector collaboration survives the organization itself.

Official Responses: Why Now?

The memo released by the Executive Leadership Council emphasizes that this is not a failure of the organization, but a "graduation."

Jake Blumberg, the outgoing Managing Director, provided perhaps the most candid assessment of the decision via LinkedIn. He noted that after seven months of strategic planning, the leadership arrived at a fundamental realization regarding identity and representation.

"The work of cross-sector civic engagement is best carried forward by numerous other organizations that have grown over the past two decades—especially those led by folks with different lived experiences and identities than those who have predominantly led those efforts historically," Blumberg wrote. This suggests that the traditional "CEO-only" model of leadership may have reached its limit in terms of community legitimacy.

Lynn Casey, a member of the council, previously defended the evolution of civic leadership, noting that the decline of the traditional CEO "statesman" is not necessarily a loss of interest, but an "evolution driven by the complexity and intensity of the corporate environment."

The memo signed by Steve Grove and other council members—including leaders from McKinsey & Co., Mortenson, and Medica—reiterated that the "spirit of Itasca" is now embedded in the DNA of the region. They pointed to the GroundBreak Coalition, a multi-billion dollar racial equity initiative, as evidence that the collaborative model has matured beyond the need for the Itasca Project’s specific oversight.

Implications: A New Era for Minnesota Civic Leadership

The dissolution of the Itasca Project raises critical questions about the future of the "Minnesota Miracle"—the state’s long-standing reputation for public-private cooperation.

1. The Decentralization of Power

For decades, a small group of CEOs could effectively set the regional agenda. The shutdown of Itasca suggests a shift toward a more decentralized, pluralistic model of leadership. While this may increase representation and diversity, some observers worry it could lead to a vacuum of "convening power"—the ability to bring the most powerful actors to the table to make quick, high-stakes decisions.

2. The Burden on the "New Guard"

Organizations like Greater MSP and the GroundBreak Coalition now carry the mantle of regional progress. However, these organizations operate differently than Itasca. Greater MSP is a membership-based economic development group, and GroundBreak is focused specifically on financial equity. Neither possesses the exact "task force" flexibility that allowed Itasca to pivot between transportation, education, and health care.

3. CEO "Retreat" or "Reinvention"?

The shutdown occurs at a time when many are questioning the civic commitment of modern CEOs. Unlike the local founders of companies like Dayton’s or Pillsbury, many modern Twin Cities executives are recruited from outside the region and face intense pressure from global shareholders. The end of the Itasca Project may be seen by some as a retreat of the corporate class from the messy work of local governance.

4. Fiscal and Social Headwinds

The Itasca Project is exiting the stage at a moment of significant challenge for Minnesota. The state is grappling with anemic population growth, a mounting fiscal cliff for the Twin Cities’ transit systems, and deep political polarization regarding public safety. Without the Itasca Project to provide "well-researched reports and recommendations," the burden of policy innovation falls more heavily on a state government that is increasingly divided.

In their closing remarks, the Executive Leadership Council expressed confidence that the region is ready for this change. While the "Itasca Project" name will fade from the headlines, the council argues that the collaborative infrastructure it built is now strong enough to stand on its own. Whether this "graduation" leads to a more inclusive era of progress or a fragmented period of stagnation remains to be seen. For now, the sunset of the Itasca Project stands as a definitive marker of a changing Minnesota.